BRETT
What prompted you to run for Co-President?
A desire to positively impact our class, work across sections on major projects, motivate peers to get involved and contribute in a lasting way. I love HBS and hope to leave it better than we found it.
Why did you choose Justine as your running mate?
She’s a female senator from New York. they’re tough competitors! We make a great team and I was lucky she agreed to work together.
Why do you think no other team ran against you in the SA election?
Would you run against a woman with five sisters and an Army Ranger?
Your main agenda for next year
More community service events, RC-EC unity, weekly TGIFs with 100% student and professor involvement, less expensive SA events (Holidazzle, Newport Ball, ski trips, cruise, etc). Our hope is for every RC and EC to complete at least 5 hours of community service next year through an SA-sponsored trip. We’ll plan weekly opportunities with MIT, Phillips Brooks House Association (Harvard’s student-run homeless shelter) and more. It will be low-commitment and high impact. We’re leaders who make a difference in the world.let’s start today!
One thing nobody knows about you
I won an unlimited annual supply of Doritos when I was 11 years old. It was part of a baseball competition. To this day, I can’t smell Doritos without gagging. I ate so many Doritos that year.
One thing that has stood out among your experiences in the RC year
Too many to name one. Mostly HBS social/cultural events: Harvard-Yale game, Sankofa, Ekta, Head of the Charles, New Zealand trek, Carnival, Colombia Spring Break.the generosity and leadership shown by classmates who organize and plan events for peers.
What did you do for Spring Break ?
Colombia with Section C! Scuba diving on the Rosario Islands, windsurfing in Cartagena, hiking in Bogota. Amazing trip, section C.
If you weren’t a student at HBS, you would be.
Policy director for Governor Bob McDonnell in Virginia. The better answer would be. “On a boat!”
Anything else you would like to add
We’re very excited for next year! Can you help us with 3 things? Participate on Friday service trips, attend weekly happy hours and be a mentor for next year’s RC class. These 3 initiatives will help define our class. We’re excited to work with you!
JUSTINE
What prompted you to run for Co-President?
The idea entered as I started to make inroads and develop new initiatives in my capacity as Section A’s Senator. While it was a daunting idea, it was also intriguing as I had many thoughts of new paths for the SA and a fair amount of experience in student governments. What really convinced me, though, was the fact that a number of classmates came to me and urged me to consider running for Co-President. As I began to seriously think about it, I checked with others with whom I had worked, who knew me and the SA, and whose integrity and forthrightness I knew I could trust. To a person, they were all supportive and urged me to become a candidate. I figured if these individuals wanted me to spearhead the SA for the next year, it had to mean something.
Why did you choose Brett as your running mate?
I initially met Brett at the beginning of the school year at a crowded drinking establishment, and had the instant gut reaction that he was a genuinely good person. As the campaigning period drew near, while I was checking in with those individuals I mentioned above, I also started to ask who, in their minds, would be a good compliment and foil to my person and skill set. Each time I asked, the same name was spoken: “Brett Gibson.” After sitting down and discussing with Brett our personal leadership and work styles, goals for the SA and HBS student body and overall value systems, I was captivated.
Him having a dashingly Kennedy charm didn’t hurt my decision either.
Why do you think no other team ran against you in the SA election?
Don’t you think I look intimidating?
Your main agenda for next year
Impact: Creating an imprint on the students’ lives by fundamentally changing the HBS culture
Unity: Integrating within the internal HBS community and greater Boston and Cambridge environments
Professional Excellence: Making HBS the premier graduate school as it relates to academia and career searches
We hope to accomplish each of the above by listening and being available to each of the RCs and ECs.
One thing nobody knows about you
I am named after the shrewd, rich, mysterious heroine in Lawrence Durrell’s novel Justine. The irony of life imitating art demonstrated by my matriculation at HBS is quite humorous (at least to me).
One thing that has stood out among your experiences in the RC year
I am consistently amazed by the entanglement of extreme talent and ultimate humility that my classmates exhibit. I am constantly impressed with and humbled by each one of you.
What did you do for Spring Break?
I wish I could tell you the reason I was on crutches post-Spring Break was because I rescued a hurt animal after careening down a Costa Rican zip line, but alas this would be false. My Spring Break was accompanied by a knee surgery, Vicodin and The United States of Tara.
If you weren’t a student at HBS, you would be.
. scheming to take over Will Shortz’s title of New York Times Crossword Puzzle editor.
Anything else you would like to add
From the Invisible Man:
“I hope so,” I said
“Don’t hope, make it that way.”
If you think Brett and I could be doing things better, faster, stronger, please let us know.
AUTHORS’ BIOGRAPHIES
Justine is an RC student from Section A, avid runner alongside the Charles and enthusiastic advocate for the twisted novel The Contortionist’s Handbook by Craig Clevenger.
Brett has traveled to 23 countries, run two marathons and was born with six wisdom teeth. He is currently president of New C and formerly served both as an Army Ranger and as an analyst at Carlyle. His current projects include acting in the HBS Show and assisting with Haiti relief efforts through Harvard’s Operational Medicine Institute.
